6A SOFTBALL: BENAVIDES LIFTS DEER PARK TO FINAL.
LEANDER — Hannah Benavides was nearly perfect.
That was more than enough for Deer Park.
The Lady Deer kept their season alive for one more day with a 2-0 victory over Flower Mound in the Class 6A state semifinals Friday evening at Glenn High School.
Benavides, a senior, tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout and took a perfect game into the sixth inning. The Abilene Christian signee finished with seven strikeouts and issued one walk.
Flower Mound threatened spoil the strong start in the bottom of the seventh inning, loading the bases with one out.
Benavides rose to the occasion, however, and escaped the jam to secure the win.
“I have all the faith in her,” Deer Park coach Amy Vidal-Bush said. “She is undersized and doesn’t throw the ball as hard as everybody else, but she’s got fight in her, and that’s a big deal.”
Deer Park (39-8), the Region III-6A champion, will take on Converse Judson (34-2) for the state championship
at 5 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Field. Judson defeated Rockwall 6-2 in the first semifinal.
“All along, we have said let’s not be satisfied until we get to the end,” VidalBush said. “Now, we’re here. I think we’re so close at this point, I don’t have to help them with intensity or focus.”
Flower Mound (36-4-1) saw its first-ever state tournament appearance come to an early conclusion with the loss. The Lady Jaguars had won five consecutive playoff games entering the matchup.
The teams endured a short lightning delay in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Lady Deer came back strong and finally broke the stalemate in the fifth.
Madison Bailey reached on an error by Flower Mound and moved to third base following a double from Emma Overla.
Bryanna Fuentes then hit a hard ground ball, but the Lady Jaguars could not make the tag at the plate as the ball popped loose. That allowed both Bailey and Overla to score for the 2-0 lead.
“I think one of the things was just being a little more patient in the batter’s box,” Vidal-Bush said. “We were excited, and we were a little nervous in the box, and we chased some pitches we shouldn’t have. I think that was just about us getting in there and trying to hit a better pitch.”
That lead would hold as the Deer Park ace worked her late game magic to preserve it.
“(The key was) remembering a purpose, remembering what we came here for and what my team has worked all this time for,” Benavides said. “I just had to go with it.”